Under a Feral Sky
by Krystalglow
Summary: Generations before Fox McCloud, colonies of anthros on a new planet were at risk. Fear was bred by uncertainty, destruction, and ferals. Out of the ashes, a young hero soon emerged. This is his legacy.
1. Prologue

Hello reader. This is an idea I thought of some time ago and decided to put pen to. I've been a fan of Star Fox since the early 90's when I played it on my SuperNintendo (still my favorite console). You will not see characters from Star Fox, but their predecessors. I hope you enjoy.

Star Fox is owned by Nintendo. The characters are my own.

* * *

**Prologue**:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now, the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night". And there was evening, and there was morning- the first day.

And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water. So God made the expanse that separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky". And there was evening, and there was morning- the second day.

And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. God called the dry ground "land" and the gathered waters he called "seas". And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation; seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning- the third day.

And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning- the fourth day.

And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth. And there was evening and there was morning- the fifth day.

And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kind, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

THEN God proclaimed, "Let us make man in our image, our likeness, and anthro in likeness of man and creature, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

So God created man in his own image,

In the image of God he created him,

And the anthro in the union of man and creature,

Man and anthro, male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground- everything that has the breath of life in it- I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning- the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were competed in all their vast array.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

* * *

If you're reading this, it means I've passed on to the next life, if there's such a thing for us. You know, I was pretty proud of how I changed that passage. Curls my tail each time I see a little one reading the Bible. It's just too bad it's all a load of bullshit, forgive my saying so. But would I have our next generation knowing how we started? Never. They deserve better than that. I wanted to give them hope, let them believe. If they believe enough, hell maybe there's going to be something for us after all. I had to rewrite it. No question about it. Maybe God planned us after all.

Anyways, we didn't know at first for how long we were going to live, or if we were sterile, or what the hell we were going to be like. How differently were our brains going to be wired compared to a real human? We didn't know. They didn't care about us; we were just petty soldiers to them. Did we have the capacity in our skulls to learn and build upon our previous experiences? Could we comprehend what was right and wrong? Could we love?

Well, turned out we could. Believe me those first few years were rough. But over time, we found out that we could develop new skills, educate ourselves, make friends, and love. It was glorious.

I feel my time is coming soon, a feeling that reaches from the tips of my ears to the tip of my tail. Thought it was time to set this down for someone to find, because although I want our life to have meaning, I want to preserve the past too.

Right, so if you want to believe, I suggest you stop reading. If you want to believe but are curious and thinking about taking a chance by reading onward, I'm a feral and lick myself frequently. We all know a feral is not to be believed, or trusted.

Cheerio,

Zave

* * *

And so it begins. I hope the prologue stirred your interest. I'm brimming with ideas for this story and can't wait to see how it unfolds. Please R&R and let me know what you think.

-Krystalglow


	2. A New Beginning

Let the story begin! I hope you enjoy this first chapter. It sets the stage for what is to come. Starfox names and references belong to Nintendo. Enjoy!

* * *

The smell of burnt fur and blood filled the air of the cramped cargo space of the freighter ship. There were several hundred people on board, some of which were injured and a few had recently closed their eyes for the last time. The group had escaped planet Earth and had just passed the reaches of the Milky Way. Captain Lyla was desperately hoping to find that the new system they had entered would house a living planet. The Milky Way was not a kind system, as no other planets were feasibly inhabitable. The group had a limited amount of supplies and the ships durability through the stresses of space was unknown.

* * *

The people, dubbed 'anthros' by humans, had successfully escaped. It was the eve of World War III and the United States' newest military additions had just deserted. A few skirmishes had occurred when they moved to possess the freighters, but luckily only a small percentage of their members were harmed. The humans on the airbase were frightened to see the sharp teeth and claws of some of the anthros. They were still a scientific novelty and even when they were complacent, many men looked upon them with fear.

Abomination. That was the word society had come to call them. The government had created anthropomorphic individuals in an effort to gain an upper hand in the upcoming world war. A special division of the Pentagon was solely in charge of using biotechnology and the art of genetic modification to create soldiers that would fight in addition to the normal troops. Chromosomal incompatibility was broken and unheard of species soon emerged. Animals were chosen for speed, strength, and endurance and their DNA was merged with that of man to create a new breed. They were called anthros after the common name given to cartoon characters, those that looked like animals but could walk on two legs and talk.

The scientists chose a variety of traits to remain dominant in their new army, such as obedience, high stamina, intelligence, and strength. Some were engineered with a dominant aggressive gene but the first few prototypes were overly violent and that trait was eradicated from the genome. The first process to develop anthros was time consuming and very expensive. They began in small tissue cultures and once becoming a zygote they would grow at the same pace of a human child. The Pentagon had demanded results, and the current process at that time was unacceptable. The world war was expected to have come and gone by the time they were able to grow enough anthros.

Then, one of the scientists was able to create a gaseous virus that would mutate the living DNA of a creature. It was based off an experiment done by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Once an animal would breathe in the gas, the virus would lodge in the growing cells of the body. There, it would replicate its own DNA into the animal, causing their DNA to mutate. The animal would be infused with the desired chromosomes and alleles, and the adjustment period would last a couple weeks. They found it worked best on young, rapidly growing individuals because of the abundance of cell growth and metabolic activity.

Puppies and kittens from local humane shelters were the first to undergo the gas treatment. The young animals were placed into a gas chamber, treated, and then placed into an observation kennel for several weeks. The scientists would take measurements of their growth and take hourly notes of behavior. Around a week and a half the magic would start to begin. The elongated limbs would revert to walking on two legs instead of four. The spine would follow the slight curvature of a humans. The toes of the paws became more fingerlike, but the tough calloused pad remained. The eyes of the animals in particular would gain a luster and depth, the glint of intelligence. At around two weeks, strides in communication began. The scientists brought in educators to teach them the English language, math, and science. The anthros learned as fast as they grew. By six months time, they were at the same level of a middle school aged child. By a year, they were at the level of a high school student and could competently use a pistol and assault rifle.

A few weeks after the success of the accelerated growth anthros, the Pentagon biotechnology department decided to branch out their efforts and add diversity to their team. Young birds, wolves, foxes, raccoons, and other young wild animals were brought to the labs. The creatures were gassed, put in an observation room, and the cycle continued. The United States government was impressed with the progress and hopeful for the future. A soldier that was not a human was safely expendable. The more anthros there were to put in the front lines the better.

The training was going well with the first anthros. Some of them were taught to drive vehicles, fly aircraft, and use high grade military weaponry. The anthros were obedient and would outlast the humans that were training beside them. For obedience in particular, the scientists found that anthros with a dog base were best because of their natural tendency towards loyalty. Some of the less domesticated based anthros, like wolves and foxes, had to be given more attention to ensure desired behavioral results.

Things were going as planned until one of the scientists developed a soft spot for his creation. Dr. Victor Kettering watched as some of the anthros developed personalities. Some would possess a sense of humor, show curiosity, or sympathy. He did not want these almost human lives to be thrown away in the front lines as an expandable buffer. He felt that they deserved something more.

By the time Dr. Kettering had his realization thousands of anthros had already been created. He knew he could not save them all, but it was possible to save a portion of them. He brought in some of the first anthros that were created, as they were smarter and more skilled than their younger cousins. He explained to them why they were created, why they were trained, and what was going to happen to them soon. He developed a plan with them to hijack freighter ships and escape to a new world where they could build their lives.

* * *

Captain Lyla's s eyes tightened as he thought about Dr. Kettering. A good man caught in controversial issues, he tried to right what he felt was a wrong. Sadly, he was killed for his pains. He was with the anthro's every step of the way as they hijacked the freighters but was shot in the back as he followed his creations. Captain Lyla had tried to save his friend but was forced to leave him behind. The anthros had to move quickly, exit the hangar, and make their escape to avoid being killed themselves. Dr. Kettering was left in a pool of his own blood on the concrete floor and later that day made headline news as a traitorous scientist.

"Sir, I think I see something promising on the screen," Captain Lyla's copilot, who went by Skew, said as he pointed at the monitor.

Captain Lyla nodded. "Good, let's move her that way. Skew, radio the other freighters and let them know."

Skew picked up a headset and spoke to the captains of the other five freighters, enthusiasm in his gruff voice. He was a burly red squirrel, his tail twitching in anticipation as he spoke. Captain Lyla himself was a robust hare, although his long ears had begun to droop with the stress he had endured.

"Captain, one of the other ships reported a similar reading on the screen. They are going to head to that planet and take another freighter with them. The remaining two are going to follow us," he said curtly.

Captain Lyla nodded. "Yes, that will work fine. If one of the planets proves to be a problem, we can help each other in reaching the safer of the two."

Skew didn't answer, his focus being on the monitor. The dot came closer and began to reveal itself. The planet was a healthy shade of blue, much like planet Earth they had left. The orb had swirling masses of clouds and as they got closer green and brown landmasses began to form.

"Captain, I think we found home," Skew said, eyes bright.

* * *

The anthros successfully established colonies on the two planets. The system was named Lylat after the Captain Lyla who led the rebels to their new life. The planet the captain landed upon was name Corneria, because he said it would be their own little corner of the universe. The other planet was named Fortuna, as they said it was good fortune that allowed them to survive and make it their own.

The planets had existing life forms but none of them were of the higher intelligence. The air was sweet and easily breathed in, the waters clear and drinkable, with plenty of flora and fauna to sustain them. The anthros had made their beginning.

* * *

Let the show begin! Please drop a comment and let me know what you think. This was how I envisioned the ancestors of Starfox getting started.

Note: I am not against biotechnology; I just twisted its use to fit my own devices. I think it currently has done wonders and has great potential, especially in relation to agriculture and medicine.

-Krystalglow


End file.
